Musical chairs

Karachi police have received a new chief Ghulam Nabi Memon in place of Additional IG Police Imran Yaqoob Minhas, who has been removed as Capital City Police Officer (CCPO). The abrupt transfer of Mr Minhas has raised eyebrows as he remained in office for only nine months.

Bol News reached out to many police officers of different ranks who were tight-lipped about the reasons behind the transfer of the officer. Some of them confided to Bol News that it was the subject of the provincial government. As long as the government was happy with the police chief, he would remain in his post and when the government decided to replace him, many charges might be put on him to create reasons for his removal.

Same is the case with Mr Minhas. The sources in the police and government departments said there was apparently one reason: that he had failed to control the growing cases of street crimes and that was why he was removed from his post.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at a ceremony recently termed the soaring prices responsible for the increase in crime.

The sources said that there might be no difference of opinions that there was an increase in the street crime incidents since Minhas had assumed charge. Many people had also lost their lives while resisting armed hold-ups. In January alone, five people fell prey to armed criminals. Due to the growing number of street crimes, there was a hue and cry in the media as well, the sources pointed out.

However, the sources said that street crimes might not be the actual reason for his removal; there might be a couple of other reasons.

One of the main reasons that would have angered the top ranks of the government might have been the raid and arrest of the grade 20 officer in the Nasla Tower case. The police took the stance that the investigation was in process on court orders.

However, the sources explained that any officer of grade 20 or above could not be arrested without prior permission from the higher authorities of the government.

The arrest was made without prior permission which had provoked the rulers in the provincial setup, the sources said, adding that arguments had also turned ugly between the then CCPO and ministers in a high-level meeting on the issue. This might be one of the reasons to remove Minhas from the post of police chief, the sources confided to Bol News.

The second major reason was the use of excessive force to disperse the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) protest sit-in in front of the Chief Minister House on Jan 27.

Sources say the government officials were not in favour of using force and they wanted to solve it politically. But the police had seemed in a hurry and mishandled the situation. The police action gave extra political mileage to the MQM-P which the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership was not ready to give them.

It was a political gimmick rather than a law and order situation. And the police on the pretext of law and order took the action by using excessive force, the sources claimed.

Moreover, the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) sit-in was the longest one in front of the Sindh Assembly gate. The PPP carried out negotiations with the JI leaders and solved it politically.

Similarly, the PPP leaders started negotiations with the PSP leaders who had started the protest sit-in near Fawwara Chowk. That was too solved politically, the sources also said. The MQM-P sit-in was not a law and order situation and it could have been solved politically.

According to the sources, the then city police chief Minhas maintained in the high-level meetings that it was his responsibility to provide maximum security to the international players staying in hotels located near the CM House. That was the reason the MQM-P protesters were dispersed. At that time, the Pakistan Super League matches were also about to start in the metropolis.

However, the government officials did not agree with the version of the ex-CCPO and he was removed from his post just after two weeks of the MQM-P episode. Meanwhile, officials in the Sindh government said transfers and postings were routine administrative affairs.